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UVU to Host Regional Student Public Relations Conference

Public relations professionals from across the country will be featured at Utah Valley
University Feb. 23-25 as it hosts the 2015 Public Relations Regional Conference for
the Western United States. UVU was selected earlier this fall to host by the Public
Relations Student Society of America (PRSSA) to host the prestigious conference.

Conference speakers include professionals from CNN, Adobe, McDonald’s, Overstock.com,
General Motors, and PR firms in Washington, D.C., New York City, and Boston.

Students who attend the conference, “PR Elevated: Aspiring to New Heights,” will have
an opportunity to network, attend workshops and listen to public relations professionals
with varied backgrounds. Public relations students from more than 30 universities
in Utah, Idaho, Arizona, Nevada, California, Colorado, Wyoming and Oregon, are invited
to attend. In addition, public relations professionals along the Wasatch Front and
high school seniors from nearby high schools are also welcome to attend.

UVU was selected to host the regional conference through a competitive application
and interview process, according to Stephen Whyte, assistant professor of communication.
“Five years ago, a goal was set for UVU to host this conference,” Whyte said. “Through
the combined talents and consistent work of faculty, students, PRSSA and the University
administration, this national recognition is a tremendous accomplishment.”

Planned by UVU’s public relations students, Whyte said: “This once-in-a-lifetime
student engaged-learning experience will further position the University, the Communication
Department and the public relations program as national leaders.”

UVU’s PRSSA Chapter was created in 2009 and within its first five years has received
local, state, national and international recognition. The chapter was named best in
the nation in 2013 and has received numerous awards including Golden Spike Awards,
and three Hermes Creative Awards during an international competition sponsored by
the Association of Marketing and Communication Professionals.

UVU to Host Symposium on Terrorist Violence and Free Expression

Utah Valley University is hosting a special symposium, titled “Terrorist Violence
and Free Expression: France and Charlie Hebdo,” featuring UVU experts Gregory Jackson,
Michael Minch and John Macfarlane, as well as Salt Lake Tribune cartoonist Pat Bagley
will be held Jan. 26 in the Sorensen Student Center 206 b&c, beginning at noon and
including four hour-long presentations.

Terrorist violence has deeply impacted the United States and other Western nations
in the twenty-first century, leaving many with questions regarding its root causes
and strategies for response; the recent deaths of 12 French citizens at the hands
of religious extremists highlights the urgency of this challenge.

The goal of the symposium is to give those in attendance a greater understanding of
Islam’s deep roots in France, the significance of the attack on the staff of “Charlie
Hebdo,” the importance and limits of free speech and the potential outcomes of different
responses, said Jackson, a lecturer in the University’s Integrated Studies Department
and a specialist in the history of France.

“If we fail to recall that France ruled Algeria for 132 years — from 1830 until as
recently as 1962 — we fail to see the complex connection of France to Muslim North
Africa, and the long history of Islam in modern France,” said Jackson. “Because of
this, no modern Western nation can offer as many historical insights on the co-existence
and the tensions of Islam and Western societies.”

The symposium is co-hosted by the University’s Integrated Studies and Peace & Justice
Studies; for more information contact Jackson (gjackson@uvu.edu or 801-863-8970) or
Minch (MMinch@uvu.edu or 801-863-7482).

Legendary civil right activist Joan Trumpauer Mulholland will be speaking at Utah
Valley University’s annual Martin Luther King Jr. Commemoration held at noon on Wednesday
in the Grande Ballroom. Mulholland’s address is part of a daylong event focused on
bringing together a wide spectrum of campus and community voices to discuss and remember
the legacy of Dr. King.

Born and raised in the South, Mulholland participated in more than three dozen sit-ins
and protests and was ultimately arrested and jailed for her involvement in the civil
rights movement. She was housed on death row in Mississippi’s notorious Parchman Penitentiary
with other Freedom Riders. Mulholland was involved in numerous other significant events
focused on civil rights, including one of the most famous and violent sit-ins of the
movement at the Jackson Woolworth lunch counter; she also helped plan and organize
the march on Washington. For her actions, she was disowned by her family, attacked,
shot at, cursed at and hunted down by the KKK for execution.

As a white Southern woman, Mulholland became renowned for her courage and fortitude.
She has been written about in several books, including “Growing Up in Mississippi,”
“Breach of Peace” and “We Shall Not Be Moved.” She has also appeared on several television
shows, and her story and experiences have been highlighted in award-winning documentaries,
including “An Ordinary Hero,” PBS’s “Freedom Riders,” “Standing on My Sister’s Shoulders”
and “Eyes on the Prize.”

After her release from prison, Mulholland became one of the first whites to integrate
Tougaloo College. She eventually worked at the Smithsonian Institution, the Department
of Commerce and the Justice Department. Today, she is a retired teaching assistant
who lives in Virginia.

Other events during UVU’s Martin Luther King Jr. Commemoration include a campuswide
bell toll at 10:55 a.m., several faculty and student presentations, and a viewing
of “Remember,” a short film by UVU alumnus Torben Bernhard. For more information about
the University’s MLK 2015 commemoration, visit uvu.edu/chss/mlk or call 801-863-6042.

The University has held an annual MLK commemoration day since 1984; in recent years
the scope of the commemoration has expanded to include topics such as poverty, human
trafficking, voting rights, immigration reform and the current state of civil and
human rights in the world.

Tickets now available for Forgotten Carols Scholarship Dinner & Performance

Every December musician and filmmaker Michael McLean hosts a special VIP event before
his performance of The Forgotten Carols at the UCCU Events Center. Money raised from
ticket sales from this event goes toward The Forgotten Carols Scholarship fund, which
provides scholarships for UVU students in deep financial need.

This year's event will be on Friday, December 5th and tickets are on sale now. For
$200 you get an amazing meal prepared by UVU's award-winning Culinary Arts program,
2 VIP seats to that evening's performance of The Forgotten Carols at the UCCU Events
Center, and a special commemorative gift.

Click here to learn more about the scholarship, hear stories from our past recipients, and purchase
tickets for this year's performance.

Integrated Studies and Peace & Justice Studies to host 10th Annual Symposium on Restorative
Justice and the Death Penalty

For ten years now UVU has hosted an event focused on the issues surrounding the death
penalty. Here is the schedule for this year's event:

10:00-11:15 a.m.MarkUmbreit, Professor of Social Work, University of Minnesota. Director, Center for Restorative
Justice and Peacemaking. Presentation: “Peacebuilding Through Restorative Dialogue: A Social Movement in the Global Community.”

11:30-12:45 p.m.Participants break for lunch.

1-2:15 p.m.David Dow, Distinguished Professor of Law at Houston Law Center.Presentation:“Who Benefits When the State Executes Murderers?”

2:30-3:45 p.m.Sandy McGunigall-SmithProfessor of Behavioral Science, Utah Valley University. Specialist in Quality of
Life for Death-Sentenced Inmates.Presentation: “Autonomy in Extremis: An Intelligent Waiver of Appeals on Death Row.”

Philosophy professor to host a series of panel discussions on video games at UMOCA

Dr. Thi Nguyen of the Philosophy & Humanities department is hosting a series of panel
discussions on video games at the Utah Museum of Contemporary Art in Salt Lake City.
Level Up "will question the artistic quality of environment aesthetics, investigate
player experience as a greater narrative and explore the social and ethical implications
of in-game economics and open world creativity on global society."

CHSS and Department of Communication to host Ten Years After The Moore War

In the fall of 2004, just weeks before the contentious Bush-Kerry general election,
filmmaker Michael Moore was invited by student government leaders to speak at Utah
Valley State College. In response to the invite and the community’s distress, TV pundit
Sean Hannity was invited to speak as well. The ensuing uproar surrounding these visits
transformed the campus that year as faculty, staff, and students wrestled with issues
of free speech, academic freedom, and national politics.

It is now ten years later and much has changed. UVSC has become Utah Valley University
and now has the largest undergraduate student population in the state. But the organizers
of an upcoming symposium on the Michael Moore/Sean Hannity visits also think there
are still lessons to be learned.

“There is a tendency to focus on the negatives when we talk about the Michael Moore
visit,” said Vegor Pedersen, one of the event organizers. “It was a contentious time
for our campus community, but I think it also did us a lot of good. It put us on the
map.”

The event, entitled Ten Years After The Moore War, will feature discussions with student
leaders and faculty members as well as a showing of the documentary film This Divided
State.

Among the participants in the symposium will be Jim Bassi and Joe Vogel, who were
the student government officers who extended the invite to Moore ten years ago. “It
was very important for us to bring Jim and Joe back to campus,” Pedersen said. “I
am interested to see their perspective now with the benefit of hindsight.”

The symposium will also attempt to discuss and analyze some of the current issues
surrounding academic freedom at public colleges and university, and how the lessons
of ten years ago might be applied today.

“The event continues to resonate today,” said Phil Gordon, associate professor in
the Department of Communication at UVU. “It is relevant to the issue of academic freedom
that has recently emerged on a national level as well as local issues of tolerance
of diverse viewpoints specific to UVU.”

Ten Years After The Moore War will be on Monday, October 20 in the auditorium of UVU’s
library from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. and is free and open to the public. Additional information
can be found at www.uvu.edu/chss/moore.

The 3rd Annual UVU Conference on ADHD

University College, the College of Humanities and Social Sciences, and the School
of Education are pleased to present the 3rd Annual ADHD Conference. This conference
is designed for students, parents, teachers, administrators, and professionals who
are interested in learning about ADHD, treatments, education and family life, available
services, and practical resources.

We invite you to listen to leading experts in ADHD, and join in the breakout sessions
instructed by a multidisciplinary group of professional that will share their research
and best practices.

This is a great opportunity to come together as a community and broaden the awareness
of ADHD. Please join us in the Student Center at Utah Valley University on September
26, 2014. Conference check-in open at 8:00am, the keynote session begins at 9:00am,
and all breakout sessions will conclude at 4:00pm. For the conference website.

CHSS Back to School Retreat

On Thursday, August 21st the College of Humanities & Social Sciences is holding its
annual Back to School Retreat for all fulltime faculty and staff up at the Wasatch
Campus in Heber City. The retreat begins at 8:30 with a continental breakfast. Departments
then get a chance to break away and have some time for planning. During the break
for lunch we will have visitors from all over campus come speak with us about how
they can help, and we will provide a photographer if you are looking to update your
professional page. The afternoon offers another opportunity for department break outs.

The Wasatch Campus is located along Highway 40 just north of Heber City. Click here for directions. This is a great opportunity to reconnect with colleagues before the
start of the school year, and the views from campus are always worth the drive.

Echoes of The Executioner's Song

Utah Valley University’s English and Philosophy Departments are very pleased to welcome
Lawrence Schiller, acclaimed filmmaker and Director of the Norman Mailer Center, on
July 16, 2014.

Mr. Schiller’s connection to the Wasatch Front runs deep. In the late 1970s, he resided
in Utah to research the context and conditions of Gary Gilmore’s shocking Utah County
murders, followed by one of the most perplexing and highly-publicized Death Penalty
cases in United States history. Schiller’s work substantiated the content of Norman
Mailer’s massive nonfiction novel The Executioner’s Song, which in turn founded the
script and production of Schiller’s film adaptation of the same title.

The impact of the Gilmore case on Utah County residents at the time was profound.
Gilmore was convicted of two cold-blooded murders and sentenced to death; however,
the United States had at this point discontinued penal executions for over a decade.
When Gilmore, through his lawyers, insisted that the State of Utah follow through
on the sentence, the nation turned its full attention. Gilmore’s death by a Utah firing
squad generated social, cultural, legal, and aesthetic questions that cannot be fully
obscured by time.

“I was fifteen years old the day Gary Gilmore was executed at the Utah State Prison,”
said Karin Anderson, a professor in the English and Literature Department at Utah
Valley University. “The season of his crimes, trial, and appeals opened a strange
threshold to a new adult awareness; it was, for me, the year the ‘outside” world’
rushed irrevocably into my own private Utah Valley.”

More than three decades beyond the haunting events that first brought him here, Schiller
returns to Utah this summer to direct the Norman Mailer Center’s prestigious summer
writing workshops, scheduled for three weeks in July at the University of Utah. Many
related events will be open to the public. Utah Valley University will host a one-day
conference focused on the Gilmore case and Schiller’s powerful film. The Executioner’s
Song starred a young Tommy Lee Jones and Rosanna Arquette. The movie was shot on location
in the Utah and Salt Lake Valleys.

The conference is entitled "Echoes of The Executioner’s Song: Why A New Generation
Should Listen.” All events will take place in the UVU Library Lecture Hall, LI 120.
At 2:00, a panel of Utah Valley-based writers, scholars, and legal experts (including
Michael Palmer, Managing Editor of Iron Horse Review; Rich Roberts, Civil Litigation
Attorney; Nancy Evans Rushforth, Humanities Coordinator for UVU Integrated Studies)
will comment on the crucial legacies of the Gilmore case. A screening of The Executioner’s
Song is scheduled at 4:00, followed at 6:30 with an address by Mr. Schiller, who is
happy to take questions afterward. The conference will close with an informal reception
and light refreshments.

This event is free and open to the public. Please direct questions to Professor Karin
Anderson of the UVU English Department at anderska@uvu.edu, or to Professor Michael Minch of the UVU Philosophy Department at MMinch@uvu.edu.

UVU Public Relations Students Earn International Awards

Utah Valley University’s student public relations campaign teams recently won three
Hermes Creative Awards during an international competition sponsored by the Association
of Marketing and Communication Professionals.

Two UVU student teams competed against some of the country’s most prestigious PR firms
such as Edelman and Hill & Knowlton Strategies that submitted campaign entries for
Coca-Cola, Cabelas, and 20th Century Fox Home Entertainment.

UVU teams were awarded Gold Awards for its PR campaign for “A New Way To Pay” for
Fiserv, a Fortune 500 company, and PR pro bono work for “A Utah Valley Bachelor” for
the Popmoney app. UVU students also received an Honorable Mention for the “IOUtah”
campaign conducted for Fiserv. The PR teams spent the better part of this academic
year conducting research and executing their campaigns.

“This recognition demonstrates that UVU public relations students have what it takes
to work with some of the top PR firms and organizations in the country,” said Farah
Sanders, faculty adviser. “Much of this is thanks to the engaged learning approach
we are able to have in our classrooms at UVU.”

The UVU PR majors reached more than 250,000 people with their campaign work, increased
user-ship of the app as well as transactions within the app. Erin Pierce with Adobe
served as the teams’ professional adviser.

Hermes Creative Awards is an international competition for creative professionals
involved in the concept, writing and design of traditional materials and programs,
and emerging technologies. The competition has grown to one of the largest of its
kind in the world.

“Our PR program has become increasingly stronger over the last four years through
the efforts of our outstanding faculty. Both students and faculty have been honored
at all levels from local to international,” said Janet Colvin, chair of UVU’s Communication
Department. “We are very proud of the work our faculty and students are doing and
the reputation that the PR program and UVU are developing for producing high competitive
and stellar work in the PR field.”

Services for Carol Morgan

Our friend and colleague Carol Morgan passed away on Friday, May 16th, following a
sudden onset of brain cancer. Carol had been the administrative assistant in the Languages
department for several years. Our thoughts are with her family and loved ones at this
time. You can find her obituary here.

A viewing will be held Friday, May 23, 2014 from 6:00 pm to 8:00 pm at Wheeler Mortuary
(82 W 400 N, Mapleton) and on Saturday morning from 8:30 am to 9:30 am at the White
Church in Mapleton, (31 E Maple St, Mapleton) prior to services beginning at 10:00
am. The family requests tributes and messages may be sent to Wheeler Mortuary www.wheelermortuaries.com